Newport Harbor's Quest Truxton fights off Fountain Valley's Sal Ochoa on his way to the end zone for a first half touchdown at Newport Harbor High on Oct. 25. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

CORONA DEL MAR

Last week: Corona del Mar 35, University 3

This week: 7 p.m. today vs. Beckman

Defense wins championships, and that adage is alive and kicking for the Corona del Mar Sea Kings.

The offensive side of the ball, particularly junior running back Cole Martin, has been in the limelight for CdM (8-0, 3-0) so far, but the Sea Kings' defense has produced several spectacular performances of its own.

In fact, they've had eight spectacular performances.

The Sea Kings' defense has allowed 73 points in eight games, an average of 9.1 points per contest.

“We had a lot of guys back on defense with lots of experience and we felt we could be pretty good,” said Sea Kings' coach Scott Meyer.

“They've answered that call, I think.”

Making the defense's performance even more impressive is the squad has allowed 10 points in three Pacific Coast League games without Alex Moore, its star linebacker.

Moore, the defending Pacific Coast League Defensive Player of the Year, tore his ACL in a Week 4 victory over Capistrano Valley.

“Alex is such a good player and a leader and our defensive captain, so when we lost him, there was some concern,” Meyer said. “You always wonder when you lose a guy like that how the defense will respond.”

Meyer pointed to twin brothers Hoyt and Hugh Crance as stepping in to fill the void Moore left.

“Hoyt and Hugh have moved in and done a great job,” Meyer said. “Everyone has taken their game up a notch.”

The loss of Moore has been about the only negative for the Sea Kings this season.

The team's offense is averaging 32 points per game, which in combination with its defense, has led to a perfect season so far.

“I would give us a grade of ‘A' right now,” Meyer said.

COSTA MESA

Last week: Costa Mesa 54, Saddleback 12

This week: 7 p.m. today vs. Calvary Chapel @ Estancia

Costa Mesa coach Wally Grant has an idea on how his Mustangs should have prepared to face Calvary Chapel tonight

“We should have been doing morning workouts with the cross country team to broaden our lungs.”

In one of the most anticipated Orange Coast League matchups of the season, the Mustangs (5-3, 3-0) will take on the Eagles (7-1, 3-0) in what figures to be an offensive tour de force.

In eight games this season, Costa Mesa is averaging 32 points per game. But in their three league contests, the Mustangs have scored 149 points, putting them almost at 50 points per contest. On the other side, the Eagles are averaging 42 points in eight games overall and a whopping 56 points in three league games.

However, Grant doesn't anticipate either team having its usual success.

“I'm a defensive guy first,” Grant said. “I was a defensive coordinator for over 20 years. I'm looking to not give up points. I don't want to be a pinball machine and have both teams tally up points and break the scoreboard. I want to contain that offense that they run.

“They've done well against running teams. I'm not anticipating scoring that many points or giving up that many points.”

In addition to representing a clash of the Orange Coast League's only two undefeated squads, Friday's game will also feature a clash of style.

The Mustangs are a run-first team and rely heavily on the legs of star senior running back Oronde Crenshaw. The Eagles choose to attack through the air.

Case in point: Crenshaw has racked up 756 rushing yards in three league contests, and Calvary Chapel quarterback Danny Mattero has passed for 1,207 yards in three league games.

“To be honest, if you can do either well, pass or run, you're going to be successful,” Grant said. “My philosophy is if Oronde goes down, our star guy, I can find another guy to get me three and four-yard runs. But if I'm a spread out passing team, and my star quarterback goes down, I don't think I can find a guy that comes close to doing what he can do. That's why I've chosen to take this route.”

After Friday's game, the Mustangs will close the regular season at Laguna Beach.

NEWPORT HARBOR

Last week: Newport Harbor 42, Fountain Valley 25

This week: 7 p.m. today at Marina

The Sailors got some help Friday from Los Alamitos – which beat Edison – to grab a portion of first place in the Sunset League.

Now Newport Harbor (4-4, 2-1) will head into today's contest against Marina (1-7, 0-3), which has struggled this season. The Vikings have endured a series of lopsided losses in league play. They were defeated by Fountain Valley, 40-14, blown out by Los Alamitos, 54-7, and beat up by Huntington Beach last week, 54-12.

Vikings quarterback Daylan Harmeyer has completed about 54 percent of his passes this season and has 10 touchdowns and 1,389 yards passing. Harmeyer was locked down Friday and was just 7-for-21 passing for 74 yards and a touchdown, numbers well below his averages.

Newport Harbor will head into the contest with a lot of momentum after a strong victory over Fountain Valley. The Sunset League sends three teams to the playoffs and the Sailors could clinch a postseason berth if they defeat Marina and Huntington Beach loses to Los Alamitos.

Brinkley said he was happy with how the offense performed last week and hoping they can continue that momentum tonight.

“I liked the tempo of the offense in the second half,” he said. “As long as you're moving the offense and moving the chains, you're keeping their offense off the field.”

The Sailors are nearly at full strength, but will be without offensive lineman Joe Zavala.

SAGE HILL

Last week: Brethren Christian 35, Sage Hill 17

This week: 7 p.m. today vs. Calvary Chapel Downey

The Lightning's loss to Brethren Christian put their playoff hopes in jeopardy, but if they're able to get past Calvary Chapel Downey and Crean Lutheran the next two weeks, they could earn an at-large bid based on their strength of schedule.

Despite the latest loss, Sage Hill (3-5, 0-2) coach J.R. Tolver said the team is playing some of its best football.

“We actually came out and played pretty well,” he said. “We just made a couple of big mistakes that directly led to points. But we actually played one of our better offensive games.”

Part of the strong performance was the play of Beau Roth, who ran for two touchdowns and 143 yards and will be a key this week when Sage Hill tries to dominate time of possession.

Though the team is under the .500 mark, the Lightning are a long way from last year's 0-10 finish. Sage Hill has a realistic chance to pull even by the end of the season and will face a Calvary Chapel Downey team that has struggled to keep opponents out of the end zone.

The Grizzlies surrendered 55 points to Brethren Christian and 37 points to Crean Lutheran in their two Academy League losses. The team has also struggled offensively. Calvary Chapel was shut out by Brethren Christian and scored just six points against Crean Lutheran.

The Grizzlies' rocky road comes in their first year in the Academy League after playing eight-man football in previous seasons.

“They're a running team. They like to pound the ball and their quarterback is a good athlete,” Tolver said. “At this point, they're not going to show us anything we haven't seen before.”

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